Lifesaving fire escape apparatus



Feb. 16, 1943. MQRANDO 2,311,070

LIFE SAVING FIRE ESCAPE APPARATUS Filed April 16, 1942 INVENTOREMFINL/El. E. Mann/mu i TORNEY b Patented Feb. 16, 1943 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to fire escapes and has particular reference to asafety or life saving fire escape apparatus, although it is not thuslimited.

One of the main objects of this invention, is to greatly improve thefollowing praiseworthy although not completely satisfactory practice,such as the accidental occurrence of fire in a dwelling or building inwhich residents, occupants or individuals have been prevented fromescaping by the regularly available means, with the result that onlysuch outlets as windows have been available for exit. It has been thepractice for firemen or rescue parties to position their ladders nearsuch windows and rescue the individuals, frequently in an injured orpartly suffocated condition, by carrying such occupants down personallyand singly along the ladders, as on the backs of the firemen, and sincethis procedure has involved very considerable periods of time, andexhaustion to the firemen, who also had to ascend, perhaps not veryquickly after each rescue.

According to the method of this invention, the existing ladders and firepersonnel are still used, but another of the instant objects is toprovide an apparatus with which a fireman, with his ladder at thewindow, may place an individual within safety means, and lower saidmeans automatically, as quickly as desired, to the ground, where anotherperson or fireman may extricate the lowered individual, and allow thesafety means to again ascend to the person at the upper windows, so thatthe practice may be repeated.

The essential features of this invention are disclosed in the form of asafety cage, basket or member; a cable or hoisting and lowering linemember therefor; a reel on which the cable winds and unwinds, andcontrol means for said members, and utilizing the Weight of the basketand load therein for lowering the complete means. The control meansinclude a spring brake for the reel and its cable, and therefore thefireman at the window may regulate the movement of the carrying means.Since the reel and associated control means may be hooked onto, orreleasably attached to any step on a ladder, while the latter may bedisposed at any angle, such as nearly perpendicular to the ground, ashas heretofore been the case, the utility of my arrangement becomesevident, it being also understood that, as from a fire truck, theladder, or as an extension ladder, may be raised to any height withinits structural limits.

Another object of this invention, is that the basket isfoldable orcapable of being taken apart, to some extent. and conveniently placed onthe fire truck or conveyance. Although the particular support for thesafety basket at present disclosed is illustrated in the form of aconventional ladder of fire apparatus, any other ladder may be used.This invention is suitable for use on any section oi a ladder, anadjustable basket carrying bar being provided, and instead of beingsupporte on a ladder step, this invention may be attached or hooked ontoany other support, and is suitable for use in any form of building,industrial or commercial, as well as in a dwelli g, or the like.

Another object of this invention, is the collapsible means of the cageor basket, whereby the upper and lower ring member and their connectingrods are adapted to be collapsible into a fiat folded manner, due totheir looped and hook-like connections.

Other features of this invention will appear in the followingspecification, accompanied by the annexed drawing, in which Figure 1 isa front diagrammatic elevational view of my safety fire escape basket inits operative position on a portion of an ordinary fire apparatusladder.

Figure 2 is a partial diagrammatic side view of the structure of Figure1, which may or may not be used with an extension ladder shown therewithin dot-dash lines.

Figure 3 is section on the line 33, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a top plan View of part of the structure of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an. enlarged detail view on the line 5-5, Figure 1. in whichthe ladder and netting has been omitted, the netting being insertableand removable, whenever desired.

Figure 6 is a detail view of a portion of the showing of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a detail view in which other enlarged elements areillustrated.

Figure 8 is an enlarged top plan view of an adjustable carrier to whichthe basket is attached.

Figure 9 illustrates the escape basket in its collapsible and foldedposition.

The basket support shown in the drawing represents a bottom or lowermostsection of a fire escape ladder, other'sections, narrower than the oneshown, being also adapted to be used, and on a step or rung ID of saidsection are hooked two attaching members I I, I2, in the lower ring endsend hook it. The hook i8 cooperates with a basket carrier having on atriangle l9 a ring 29 for the hook it, and extending from a bar of thetriangle are four legs, three of which numbered 2|, are alike, and afourth leg 22 having a hinge 23 therein.

The legs 2i of the triangle it, at their lower hooked ends, areresilient, and the hooks of these legs, as well as an end hook on theleg 22, embrace the ring E. To remove the carrier, the assembly whichincludes the triangle |9 is first pressed lightly downwardly, the leg 22is unhooked, and turned into the position shown in Figure 4. One of thelegs 22 is then also unhooked, at its resilient end, whereupon the othertwo hooked legs 22 are easily removed. When the leg 22 is in theaforesaid upturned position, a doorway into and from the basket isformed.

A ring member 24 at the bottom of the basket is similar to the memberI6, and with these rings, rods 25, for example, in the present casetwelve in number, cooperate vertically to form the side walls of thebasket, said rods at their upper ends 28 being formed with inturnedhooks to permanently grip the member l6.

ihe manner in which the rods 25 grip the member 2 is such that, in eachcase, a loop 21 (Figure 6) is formed, the end 28 of the rod being againturned up so as to terminate against the body portion of the rod.

A bottom is formed in the basket by hooked metal rods, it being seen inFigure 5, that two medial rods 29, each alike, have at their upper endshooks 33, and at their lower ends hooks 3|, which enter and embrace theloops 2?.

The two next bottom rods 32, 33 are similar to the rods 2%, onlyshorter, and it is seen that the rods 34, 35 are shortest. The manner ofassembling the bottom rods as 29 is similar, in each case, and thehooked ends are turned permanentl into place in the positions shown.Since the loops 2'! are similar, on each rod, all around the bottom,these loops form in effect a portion of reduced diameter, which isconvenient in any case where the lower end of the basket might tend tocome into contact with or strike against a rung, such as S6.

The safety basket is lined or provided on the inside with netting 31, ofthe life net type. This netting may be also placed over the bottommembers, if so desired. One manner in which a portion of the netting 31may be attached to the basket wall is illustrated in Figure 6, thesebeing some strand portions 38 outside of the rods 25. A seat at, whichmay be of the Hassock type, shown in dot-and-dash lines, may also beprovided.

Metallically attached to two rods 25 of the basket (Figure 8) is a tubeor sleevemember 4|, in which is centrally fastened a draw spring 42, theends of which are fast or secured with the ends of two sections 43 of ashaft. The shaft is thus, for travel of the basket, fixed thereto, andon the ends of the shaft are two slide shoes, each alike, and eachincluding a body part 44, a side part, which may be split, and, in thepresent case, an inturned terminal 45. The shoes 44 travel freely on thesides 46 of the ladder, and for this purpose the tube M has therein pins41, which cooperate with apertures 48 in the shaft 43, The shaft istherefore ordinarily fixed, as to length, but is also adjustable forlength at the tube 4|, since the spring tends to draw in the segments43, and the ladder shown is a relatively wide one.

The reel Hi turns with its shaft l3, but has longitudinal movementthereon, there being longitudinal grooves in said shaft, as shown inFigure l, which cooperate with pins, not shown, on the reel, so that assaid reel turns, the cable ll may always remain central, even althoughwinding on or from an end, parts of the reel. On the shaft l3 (Figure 3)is a gear 5| shown diagrammatically, which meshes with a like gear on astub shaft, the latter as well as the shaft l3, being journalled in abearing 52, and on the stub shaft is a crank handle 53.

A ratchet wheel 54 having on the bearing 52, a throw pawl, as shown, isalso fast on the stub shaft, and when the pawl is thrown to thedisengaged position, the reel l4 and its shaft are free to move, as forlowering the basket, by its own weight, or for returning the basket,which may be done by a torsion spring, not at present illustrated, or bythe handle 53. Fast also with the stub shaft is a drum 55 which isengaged by a spring brake band 56. A hand lever 51 cooperates with theband 56, and therefore, the basket movement is completely controllable.

It is to be understood that other means than shown may be used toimprove this invention, such as the basket rods, or parts that be hookedor unhooked, or locked and unlocked, but the rods in their securedlooped position form a durable and firm structural basket device.

Variations may be resorted to within the spirit of this invention, andportions of the improvement may be used without others, providing samecomes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim asnew and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States of America, is as follows:

1. In a safety apparatus of the character described, the combination of,a safety cage-like basket, having top and bottom ring members connectedby vertically spaced rods forming loop and hook portions around and ontosaid ring members, said vertical rods forming the side wall portion ofsaid basket or cage, said bottom ring member having spaced rods formingthe floor portion therewith, the top ring member and inner wall portionof said basket or cage, adaptable to have a suitable netting affixedthereto, adjustable tube and shaft members secured to a pair of saidvertical rods, the ends thereof provided with slide shoes adapted to fitonto the side frame members of a ladder, hoisting and lowering meansprovided upon the upper portion of said ladder connecting to said topring memer of said basket or cage, whereby said basket or cage may carryvictims downwardly from the windows or roof of a burning building, saidbasket or cage adaptable to be collapsible when not in use.

' 2. In a safety apparatus of the character described, including acage-like basket having top and bottom ring members connected byvertically spaced rods having loop and hook portions around and ontosaid ring members, said vertical rods forming the side wall portion ofsaid cagelike basket, said bottom ring member having spaced rods formingthe floor portion therewith, the top ring member and inner Wall portionof said cage-like basket adaptable to have secured thereto a suitablenetting, a seat provided within said cage-like basket and netting,hoisting and lowering means provided upon the upper portion of a ladder,said cage-like basket provided with means to slide onto the side framemembers of portion thereof, said rods secured to top and 16 bottom ringmembers in a loop or hook manner, said bottom ring member having spacedrods forming the floor portion therewith, said top ring forming the openportion of said cage-like basket,

a triangle member adapted to be secured onto 15 said top ring member,said cage-like basket and said triangle member being connected to anysuitable hoisting and lowering means, whereby said cage-like basket maycarry distress victims from the upper portions of a burning building.

4. In a safety apparatus of the character described, the combination asdefined in claim 3, said hoisting and lowering means, having, forexample, a ratchet wheel control and a crank handle, a cable extendingfrom said reel to one of the apexed portions of said triangle member,whereby said crank handle may operate said reel for the hoisting andlowering of said cage-like basket.

EMANUEL R. MORANDO.

